This week, Lucy Liu’s innovative horror film, which defies traditional genre norms by employing a first-person perspective to portray a chilling haunting, premieres on Hulu. The blockbuster directed by Steven Soderbergh has broken box office records.
This week, “Presence” is set to debut on Hulu and will start streaming on Tuesday, June 3rd. This production brings Steven Soderbergh together with screenwriter David Koepp again, following their work on the 2022 thriller “Kimi”. Interestingly, “Presence” was made in secret without any prior announcements until a month before its global premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024.
Presence Debuts on Hulu on Tuesday
Soderbergh’s nerve-wracking film revolves around a family, the Paynes, who believe an otherworldly entity has taken up residence in their recently acquired dwelling. The parents, Rebekah and Chris Payne (portrayed by Liu and Chris Sullivan), find themselves in a battle to safeguard their children from forces they can’t comprehend, as terrifying occurrences start manifesting within what was supposed to be their idyllic abode.
As a film enthusiast, I had the pleasure of chatting with Soderbergh recently, and he shared an intriguing insight about the origin of his first-person narrative style. It seems that this unique storytelling technique was sparked by an eerie sensation he felt in his own home, which hinted at potential paranormal activity.
As a movie enthusiast, I’d put it like this: “Indeed, there seemed to be an eerie presence in the house my spouse, Jules, and I call home. We were informed when we purchased the property and later upon moving in, that the previous owner had passed away within these very walls. A neighbor revealed to us a chilling tale – that the woman who perished was rumored to have been murdered by her daughter. The details surrounding this tragic event were hazy, but everyone in the neighborhood believed it wasn’t a suicide as the authorities claimed, but rather a gruesome act carried out by her estranged daughter.
Presence Is Told Through a First-Personal Narrative Style
Director Steven Soderbergh Essentially Played the Presence On Set as He Operated the Camera
| Presence Cast | |
|---|---|
| Actor | Role |
| Lucy Liu | Rebekah Payne |
| Chris Sullivan | Chris Payne |
| Callina Liang | Chloe Payne |
| Eddy Maday | Tyler Payne |
| Julia Fox | Cece |
The renowned movie director shared that the intriguing history connected to his residence captivated him from the beginning, prompting him to delve into it.
[Our presence] was due to the fact that there seemed to be someone or something present in the home that Jules and I own.
He had hoped for an interesting experience, but it turned out to be just the usual questions like, “Did I forget to turn off a light?” he joked. However, they had arranged for a house sitter. One evening, the house sitter was watching TV in the main living room when she felt someone in another part of the house moving through her peripheral vision. She looked up and saw a woman walking from the bathroom to the bedroom. Thinking it was Jules, she called out to him, but he wasn’t there. The woman who appeared was named Mimi. This made him ponder what it would be like for Mimi, who had passed away, to be in this house and wonder who these people were and if there was anything that could be done about it. So, this served as his starting point for the story.
Filmmaker Soderbergh filmed the entire movie “Presence” within a single house in Northern New Jersey, completing the project in only 11 days. Despite the tight schedule and serious subject matter, actress Liu described the set as filled with a lively spirit.
Presence Holds an 87% Fresh Score on Rotten Tomatoes
- Soderbergh not only directed Presence, but also designed much of the cinematography for the 11-day shoot. He is credited under the pseudonym Peter Andrews.
- The movie was shot almost entirely inside a real house Cranford, New Jersey.
- Presence was shot on a micro-budget of $2 million and ultimately made more than $10 million at the box office.
She shared that there was humor inherent within the household’s dynamic, with [Soderbergh] as the dominant figure. What made it amusing was the family bickering, as we can all relate to that experience. The sibling rivalry, adolescent tension, and disconnect between children and parents were particularly awkward.
She mentioned that the project progressed swiftly, explaining: “Steven organized a dinner for the cast which allowed us to bond. Additionally, we conducted Zoom rehearsals as the dialogue was intricate and couldn’t be delivered in turns. It needed to sound authentic, and we were under tight time constraints. He was filming with a single camera without any backup takes. None of us wanted to miss our lines, so we had to synchronize our timing perfectly.
Presence premieres on Hulu on Tuesday (June 3).
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2025-06-02 22:52